Author
Topic: Minimalist Electra? (Read 3243 times)

Does anyone have pictures of an Electra X with the sidecovers and ovum covers removed? I'm considering the minimalist see-thru look, but would like to see some examples before I put in a new hacksaw blade...

LJRead

I can't answer your question but to me there are two purist views, 1) to maintain the bike as close to the way it was manufactured as possible(thus we restore old bikes with original OEM parts where available), 2) to try to make it look like an earlier bike, ie., Electra back to Classic, etc. which seems a little phony to me. Then, if you want to go minimalist, maybe you go all the way to some sort of road racer, completely stripped out. The question becomes one of once you begin down this road, where do you stop? There is a bike advertised on E-bay now that seems this way, with a cafe racer seat and minimalist front fender. It's okay, but i fail to see the point.

Aren't R E's all pretty minimalist anyway? Your bike looks pretty fine to me as it is, and the thought of taking a hacksaw to it gives me goosebumps.

Seems to me that down the road a short distance, all present day Enfields will look pretty minimalist if things keep going as they are. But it's your bike-chop away! Larry

prof_stack

Yes, this is one of those things that is wholly subjective. If mine we're a Classic I'd leave it alone (although this looks kind of nice: http://autos.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/royalenfield/photos/view/9d5e?b=3&m=s&o=0 ) However, mine is a goofy 'Classic 70's Style' Electra X. It's neither here nor there. I'm hoping there are some examples upon which I can make a decision. Most of the mods I really like are on Classics and they just can't be replicated on the Electra X (without significant mods). The saving grace is that awesome motor that just keeps getting better and better!

Styling concerns are most definitely subjective. I test rode the Electra and almost bought it. Maybe for '08. But I think RE hit the mark with it being a '70's style bike. I like it even though I started riding motorcycles in the last 60's.

The AVL motor should be even better than the Classic motor. If RE painted black the bottom part of the barrel I think an AVL Classic would be an instant best seller.

Although I would hope to still have the gas shocks and disc brake and ...

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LJRead

Well Matt, in you I see the heart of a purist - maybe a retro type purist, but think of this, that Electra X, goofy looking (to you) though it may be, is a hybrid, unique in itself. From the looks of things, it will be superseded soon and this will increase the value of its goofy looks. Someday folks will be thinking, "oh they only made X number of Electra X's. therefore I've got to have one." Take as an example cars: in the late fifties they made some real goofy ones, and now they have become classics and worth a fortune.

I wouldn't even powder coat the engine to make it look more retro (classic) - it is what it is, why try to make it look like something its not? Actually, seems they were making all aluminum engines way back in the fifties, just not at Enfields yet.

I guess I'm the purist, I had a stock 32 Ford convertible which I kept stock, even to the V-8 symbol on the front cross bar; of course it had a chrome V-8 under the hood and hydraulic brakes, but put the hood down - viola - a classic!

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LJRead

You know Matt, I had a look at the British site you posted under the "Clubman" topic showing various versions of the Electra X including the Clubman version and couldn't help feeling how great they looked, contoured side covers, ovum covers and all. They gave a sort of contoured looked that I find pleasing, even if not strictly Classic. But it is subjective, I know.

You know Matt, I had a look at the British site you posted under the "Clubman" topic showing various versions of the Electra X including the Clubman version and couldn't help feeling how great they looked, contoured side covers, ovum covers and all. They gave a sort of contoured looked that I find pleasing, even if not strictly Classic. But it is subjective, I know.

Funny, I was just browsing them today...and they *do* look good.

My days of crouching down in racer's tuck are behind me though...

I just have to decide what I want for an end-product and go after that.

That Blue 'un is quite close to what I'm aiming at for my Enfield No. 2! Except I shall have pull backs as on the Thunderbird, possibly a rigid saddle (idea stolen from one of the Members's Gallery bikes on here) and 'grds (fenders?) either same colour as tank or alloy.And the shortest silence I can find/get away with!

Part of what attracts me to RE's is the possibilities for DIY design - and at relatively modest cost! Can't see any intrinsic merit - aesthetic nor financial - in keping 'em standard. And however few of any model there might be, I very much doubt that they will ever be "collectable".